The Strawberry and Shinji?
by MintxXx
Summary: 'Brat, what's yer name? ' 'Kurosaki Ichigo.' '… Strawberry-chan? ' What if instead of Rukia, Ichigo met Hirako Shinji? Adventure, hilarity and chaos ensue. Rated T for some strong language
1. Chapter 1

**Death and the Strawberry**

'Brat, what's yer name?' 'Kurosaki Ichigo.' '… Strawberry-chan?' What if instead of Rukia, Ichigo met Hirako Shinji? Adventure, hilarity and chaos ensue.

Rated T for some foul language

* * *

 _It ain't my business, just continue walking. Someone else will be here soon._

The shrill screams reverberated through his ears and entire being, causing him to come to an abrupt halt.

'Help! Anybody please! Karin-chan is-' A girl's desperate plea for help rang out, but faded too quickly in the dead night. Not a single movement, not a single soul stirred. They were doomed.

Shinji clenched his fists, shutting his eyes tightly, as though wanting to drown out the cacophony. He willed himself to continue moving, but his legs just refused to listen, as if glued to the spot.

 _Where the fuck are the Shinigamis when you need them?!_

Suddenly, the walls of the house exploded outwards, spraying debris everywhere. Instinctively, Shinji neatly sidestepped the flying rubble. A massive Hollow emerged from within the house, giving an unnatural howl, chilling Shinji's bones. The Hollow brandished 2 unconscious girls, a dark-haired girl and a brown, caramel haired girl. The former in particular was in critical condition, with crimson blood oozing down an open wound on her head, staining her clothes.

'You fucker! Get your filthy hands off my sisters!' A lean-built teenager dashed out from within the house, cursing and angrily swinging a chair at the Hollow.

If it weren't for the fact that there were lives in danger, Shinji would have been laughed until his sides split at the sight of the human flailing the chair at the Hollow to no avail. However, all Shinji did was to give a grim smile. A human could never hope to best a Hollow. Their fates were sealed.

All of a sudden, the Hollow, bored of the boy's antics, lurched towards the orange-haired teenager, opening its mouth as if wanting to consume the teenager whole.

'Run ya idiot!' The words tumbled out before Shinji even processed what was happening

Shinji gaped, watching at the scene unfold in slow motion. To his surprise, the teen stood his ground, staring unflinchingly at the macabre being moving towards him. Shinji noticed however, the shaking of his hands and the frightened eyes, betraying his tough exterior.

Shinji could not remember exactly what happened next.

One moment he was rooted to the ground and the next moment he was in front of the Hollow, having pushed the boy backwards. He fumbled for his sword but it was too late.

 _Shit._

The hollow bit his shoulder, taking a sizeable chunk off Shinji's shoulder. Shinji winced in pain as he doubled over, panting, trying to stem the flow of the blood by holding his injured shoulder, or what was left of it. The Hollow reared up, preparing to take a swipe at Shinji, but before it could manage to, Shinji nimbly shunpo-ed away, ending up beside the teenager.

'Hadou 33, Sokatsui!' Shinji held out his hands, facing his palms towards the Hollow. A light-blue orb, pulsing with energy emerged from his hands, shooting towards the Hollow. The Hollow howled in pain as the orb exploded in its face. Temporarily blinded, it walked in circles, trashing around randomly.

Shinji collapsed from the exhaustion from the expenditure of energy and his wound. Somehow, it seemed like his strength was being sapped away. He tried to stand, but was instead hit by waves of nausea, and his vision blurred.

 _What the-?_

Shinji gave himself a few moments to compose himself before calmly assessing his situation. The Hollow was still in confusion but that would only buy them at best, a few minutes. In his current condition, it was dangerous to be handling his sword, especially with his balance being off and his muddled mind. It was possible though to take it down, however, he could not guarantee the safety of the two girls that the Hollow was holding.

'Hey! Do that fancy hadouken thing again!' The orange-haired teen shouted at him, frantically pointing at the Hollow.

Shinji stared blankly at the teen. How could he see his Hadou? And now that he thought about it, it seemed like he could see the Hollow too. Shinji closed his eyes and tried his best to concentrate, blocking out the hammering headache and Ichigo's frantic yells. In a few seconds, he found what was looking for. _Massive reserves of reiatsu, who the heck is this guy?_

An idea sprouted in Shinji's head as he silently regarded the boy in front of him. He could transfer some of his powers to the boy, allowing him to temporarily become a Shinigami and _hopefully_ , fend off the Hollow.

 _But transferring my powers to a mere human… It's the gutters for me if Soul Society ever finds out._

The Hollow growled, interrupting Shinji's train of thoughts. It had finally gotten back its bearings and was menacingly glaring at their direction.

 _Heh, what am I thinking? I'm already exiled from Soul Society, can't get worse than that._

'Hey brat, what's yer name?' Shinji weakly gasped.

'… Kurosaki Ichigo.' Ichigo grudgingly replied.

'Strawberry-chan eh?' Shinji chuckled before breaking into coughs.

'…'

'Anyways, stab this sword into yerself.'

'Are you crazy?!' Ichigo spat, flabbergasted.

'Probably but you ain't got much choice now heh? Ya can either become dog food or kebab. Personally though, kebabs are more delicious.'

Ichigo first glanced at the sword that Shinji was offering to him with uncertainty and disbelief, then at Shinji, trying to figure out whether he was indeed a lunatic.

Shinji cast a sideward glance towards the Hollow which was already making its way towards them and sighed.

'Look, this is probably the only way ya can save yer sisters, but if yer are too much of a wuss, just run.' The joking tone was replaced with a serious and urgent one as Shinji mustered all of his remaining strength to prop himself up, and his grey eyes staring straight into Ichigo's eyes.

'If I do this, can I really save my sisters?' Ichigo asked after a pause.

'… It's our best bet.'

'I'd take it.' Ichigo looked at the sword with resolute determination before thrusting in into his abdomen.

A bright flash of light engulfed the two, followed by a massive eruption of spiritual pressure which caused everything in their immediate vicinity to be blown backwards.

The two stared at each other in shock. Ichigo was now clad in a black kimono, wielding a massive sword while Shinji was… Still the same actually, decked out in his human clothes.

 _What the hell? Did he just take most of my reiatsu?! Greedy bastard._ Shinji shot a glare at Ichigo who was still amazed by his sudden wardrobe change.

'Stop ogling at yer clothes and concentrate on the enemy!' he snapped impatiently.

'Bakudo 61, Rikujokoro (Six Rods of Light Prison)!' Shinji chanted, summoning the last of his strength. Six beams of light slammed into the Hollow's midsection, firmly holding it in place, making it an easy target for Ichigo.

'GO!' Shinji urged.

Taking the cue, Ichigo ran towards the Hollow, holding his sword above his head and leapt into the air. With all his strength, he swung the blade down, neatly slicing through the Hollow's head. The Hollow gave a final unnatural scream before dissipating. As the Hollow disappeared, Ichigo caught his sisters as they fell. Panicking, he laid his sisters on the ground and hurriedly checked their pulses, before giving a relieved sigh.

Ichigo then turned his attention towards Shinji, walking back to him and then extending his hand, offering to help him up.

However, before Shinji could reach for his hand, Ichigo swayed and collapsed onto the ground.

'Great.' Shinji groaned.

…

Urahara surveyed the damage. Stopping by some debris, he rummaged through his clothes, producing a device which he used to analyse the residual spiritual traces.

'As suspected, this Hollow is the handiwork of Aizen.' He mumbled under his breath.

Just then, Urahara sensed two faint spiritual pulses, one very familiar while the other unknown. Unsheathing his sword, he cautiously followed a trail of blood which seemed to lead to the spiritual pulses. Turning a corner, he gasped in surprise upon seeing Shinji slumped against a lamppost with a teenage boy in Shinigami garb lying unconscious on the concrete.

'Hirako-san?!'

'Yo, Kisuke, looks like I got myself in some shit again eh?' Shinji gave a weak smile before passing out.

* * *

This story just struck me out of nowhere and it was super fun to write! Really excited to write the next chapter so stay tuned:) Reviews are very much appreciated! Thanks for reading~


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for all the encouraging reviews and the favs and follows! Really did not expect this story to receive so much attention!**

* * *

Chapter 2: **The Ground Rules**

Kurosaki Ichigo woke up with a start. He gave a quick glance around the room, surprised to find everything intact. He then kicked off the covers of his bed, only to find himself clad in his usual pyjamas and not a single trace of the traditional black Japanese kimono that he imagined he would be decked in.

'Good morning, ICHIGO!' Isshin Kurosaki burst into Ichigo's room, aiming a kick towards Ichigo. Without even batting an eyelid, Ichigo ducked, causing his overly-enthusiastic father to sail over his head and out of the bedroom window. A muffled 'OHMP' and the rustling of bushes signalled his landing.

 _Seems like that old man is fine._

…

 _Ichigo rushed down the stairs, trying to identify where the screams were coming from. To his horror, he found his father slumped against the wall, with crimson blood dripping from his head, staining the entire left side of his face. He cradled his arm which from what Ichigo could see, was bent in an unnatural angle._

 _'Don't mind me! Yuzu and Karin are outside, go!' Isshin urged him, his face contorted in pain._

 _Ichigo hesitated for a few moments. 'Don't go dying on me okay old man?' With that he took off._

…

'Just a bad dream huh?' Ichigo murmured as he changed into his school uniform before going down the stairs.

'Onii-chan! Breakfast!' Yuzu said as she bustled around the kitchen, energetically flipping pancakes while humming. Karin on the other hand, was glaring at a soul hovering around her as she ate her breakfast. The grievous injuries that both of them had last night, or in his dream were completely gone. Nothing was out of the ordinary... Well almost if it weren't for the gaping hole in the wall at the other side of the room resulting in pedestrians curiously peeking in as they walked by.

'Ah really, I wonder what the driver was doing to crash his car into our house.' Yuzu sighed.

'Car?' Ichigo echoed disbelievingly.

'Mmm! The crash was so loud that it woke Karin-chan, Dad and me! Only Onii-chan slept through it.' She continued.

'... Oh, I see.' Ichigo muttered, lost in his thoughts. It was more rational and logical to believe that a car had rammed into their living room rather than a monster, but somehow, the nagging doubts simply would not leave him. Everything that happened in his supposed dream had just been so real. The blood, the desperate screams and the bone-chilling, inhuman roar. Merely the thought of it made him shiver. Hefting his bag onto his shoulders, Ichigo hastily forced down his breakfast and left the house. He glanced around cautiously, surveying the area out of habit, making sure there were no delinquents waiting to ambush him.

However, today was not one of his lucky days. Out of the corner of his eyes, he spotted a figure wrapped in a trench coat and donning a fedora tailing him. The person in question was surreptitiously taking glances at Ichigo, and walking with an air of exaggerated ignorance and indifference. Despite the seemingly high quality outerwear, it only served to make the person more suspicious. Ichigo walked into a deserted alleyway and dropped his bag. He whirled around just as the person entered and dashed towards him. However, before Ichigo could grab him, the stranger evaded, as if reading his movements, causing Ichigo to stumble slightly due to the momentum.

 _He's good…!_

'Who are you and why are you following me?' Ichigo asked warily, backing away slightly, preparing for his next attack.

'You cannot be kidding me… Amnesia?! I swear to god, if this is some convenient plot device like those in Lisa's comics—'The guy gave an exasperated sigh. Somehow, the voice sounded very familiar to Ichigo, but he could not quite place where he had heard it before.

The man reached inside his coat, slowly withdrawing a sword from a sheath hidden inside. 'Maybe this will jog your memor-'

Upon seeing the sword handle, Ichigo reacted instinctively, immediately aiming a kick towards the man's arm, in order to disarm him. The man narrowly dodged the kick, throwing his arms up as Ichigo threw a right hook towards him. The abrupt movement resulted in the hat falling from the stranger's head, revealing a very familiar face, which resulted in Ichigo to freeze.

'You are…! That flaky guy with the sword!'

'Yes, yes, finally recognising yer knight in shining armour?' Shinji sarcastically replied, as he slowly relaxed his guard and bent down to pick up his fedora, dusting it off.

'And the name's Hirako Shinji by the way.' Shinji stiffly added before motioning for Ichigo to follow him.

…

 **Urahara Shoten**

'Okay, let's get this straight... You, Mr Hat-And-Clogs and Mr Freaky-Smile here are Shinigami from Soul Society, sent here to guide souls to the afterlife and purify monsters called Hollows?' Ichigo summarised, his face unreadable.

'That's it Kurosaki-san!' Urahara Kisuke replied in an all-too cheerful tone. 'Surprisingly, you handled that better than I thought— '

'LIKE HELL I WILL BELIEVE THAT!' Ichigo suddenly burst out. 'I don't know what you are trying to sell me, but I have no time to be listening to you two maniacs.' He said as he stood up from his seat.

'Tch, ya are a difficult one ain't ya? Looks like the hard way it is.' Shinji nodded towards Urahara. The latter gave a slight smile before picking up the cane beside him and thrusting the blunt end towards Ichigo's forehead at an inhuman speed.

'Hey-!' Ichigo yelped as he tried to scramble away from the oncoming cane but it was too late. He braced himself for the impact, shutting his eyes.

However, all Ichigo felt was a slight tugging sensation and a sense of lightness. Slowly, he opened his eyes and examined his surroundings.

'What the hell did you just do?' Ichigo asked, gobsmacked as he stood over his own body which was slumped over the table, motionless. He himself was mysteriously dressed in the black kimono he remembered he was wearing yesterday night.

'Looks like it's an 'out-of-body' experience for ya?' Shinji snickered, earning a glare from Ichigo.

'So, as you can see Kurosaki-san, I have split your body from your soul. However, due to Hirako-san passing you some of his Shinigami power, your soul has become that of a Shinigami soul. This was how you defeated the Hollow last night. With regards to your family members, I have replaced their memories and healed their injuries, which is why they do not recall the Hollow encounter.' Urahara said.

'Any other doubts?' Shinji added.

Ichigo silently considered, looking at the two opposite him and then his own body sprawled on the ground before giving a huge sigh. 'Fine, I believe you. But just tell me, how can you turn me back to normal?'

'Just jump back into your body and your soul will fuse back.' Urahara instructed. Ichigo followed, heaving a sigh of relief when he found himself back in his body.

'Well now, here's the tricky part… Somehow, a great bulk of Hirako-san's power was transferred to Kurosaki-san. Normally, the power transferred would only be sufficient for a one-time use but in your case, but somehow, your soul has latched onto the power.'

'Cut the mambo jumbo, how can I get my power back, _fast_ and _in time_?' Shinji asked, shooting Urahara a knowing glance.

'It seems like one way is for Kurosaki-san to expend the Shinigami power and the spiritual pressure used would return to you. However, for this transfer to be effective, both of you will have to stay in close proximity with each other at all times in order for Hirako-san's power to return faster.'

'Wait, so ya are saying I have to live with him, eat with him and _shit with him_?!' Shinji stood up abruptly, pointing at Ichigo.

'Hey! I should be the one complaining, how about my personal space and privacy!?'

'Stop yer whining, I saved yer ass and this is how ya treat me? Ya are an ungrateful—'

Shinji suddenly stopped midsentence, as a thought entered his head.

'Ah that's right, yer need your _privacy_ for _that_ right?' Shinji gave a crafty smirk as he teased Ichigo.

'Wha- What… What are you talking about?' Ichigo's cheeks flushed red, burning brightly after getting an inkling about what Shinji was implying.

'It's fine yeah, ya are a healthy young boy alright.' Shinji chuckled. His mirth however did not last for long as Ichigo threw a punch at Shinji, causing the latter to end up crumpled against the wall.

'… Yer have a short fuse.'

'Only for people like you!' Ichigo retorted.

'Okay! I prepared some stuff for the both of you, courtesy of this humble store. I'm sure that it will come in handy.' Urahara hastily cut in, preventing the conflict from escalating any further as he saw the two suspiciously inching towards the furniture.

'And Kurosaki-san, I believe that you have to hurry to school?' He gestured to the clock. Ichigo muttered a curse before hurriedly running out of the room, leaving an annoyed Shinji and amused Urahara behind.

…

'According to my analysis, the Hollow from last night was modified by Aizen-san. As a result, when you were bitten by it, it injected a drug into you which interfered with your reiatsu, causing you to become disoriented and weakened. Fortunately, I managed to offset its effect when I was treating you so you will be fine.' Urahara explained to Shinji.

'Your decision to transfer your powers to Kurosaki-san was not wrong, Hirako-san. In that condition, it would have been dangerous for those 2 girls, especially since the drug would have messed with your perception.'

Shinji's gave a non-committed grunt. However, Urahara noticed how Shinji's previously rigid posture relaxed a little, as if comforted by those words.

A few moments of silence elapsed before Shinji suddenly lifted his head, narrowing his eyes.

'Wait. How do ya know that that Hollow was holdin' those two girls? And ya showed up immediately after that it was defeated.'

'I have my sources, Hirako-san.' Urahara replied evasively. After all, he could not disclose that he had been keeping watch on the Kurosaki household. Isshin Kurosaki had made it clear that he did not want any Shinigamis, be it current or exiled ones, knowing about his and his children's' existences. If Soul Society ever caught wind of such news, it would be the capital punishment for his entire family.

'And don't tell me ya didn't notice. That Ichigo boy, he looks exactly like Kaien Shiba with bleached hair and minus that grouchy attitude. Coupled with that amount of spiritual pressure he possesses... He ain't normal, that's for sure.' Shinji continued, trying to probe an answer out of Urahara.

Urahara said nothing.

'Hmp, fine. If ya don't want to tell, that's okay, I trust ya. Yer may have some screwed up ethics but I know that yer morals are at least in the right place.' Shinji's tone softened, letting up on his interrogation.

The conversation was put on hold and the two silently indulged in their tea. The sliding door opened slightly and a sleek black cat strolled into the room. 'Mornin' Yoruichi!' Shinji cheerfully greeted while Urahara gave a slight nod. Shihouin Yoruichi nodded back in acknowledgement before gracefully leaping onto the table, circling around before sitting.

'I've just been to Kukaku and she told me that there's been an increase of Hollow sightings and abnormal Hollow activities around Rukongai. It seems to me that Aizen is behind this.' Yoruichi grimly said.

'I am sure Aizen-san will make his move soon, do be careful, Hirako-san.' Urahara

'Heh, not to worry, Hachi's barrier is perfect, it will be difficult for them to trace us. And as for the boy...' Shinji gave a sigh. 'It seems like I will need to train him, especially since he's a Hollow magnet with that reiatsu of his.'

'Anyways, thanks for the tea, Kisuke. I'm on lunch duty today and if I ain't back soon, Hiyori is gonna kill me.' Shinji shuddered as he stood up and walked towards the door.

'Hirako-san?'

Shinji paused, cocking his head back slightly.

'Eh?'

'The next one will be coming soon. Do prepare yourself.' Urahara said in a low, barely audible voice. Shinji pursed his lips, hesitating for a few moments before giving a short and curt nod and left the room.

…

Kurosaki household

'So let me lay down some ground rules.' Ichigo started, raising his eyebrow as Shinji flopped onto his bed, stretching leisurely.

'First, no contact with my family, _at all_.' Emphasizing his last few words before Shinji could retort.

'Second, don't disturb me when I'm studying.' Shinji rolled his eyes.

'Third, you will stay in that closet there, and don't mess with anything in there.'

'Yeah yeah, whatever. Look I got ya something. I asked Lisa to lend me something suitable for teenagers like yer.' Shinji gave a lazy smile, producing a manga from inside his coat and passing it over to Ichigo.

Ichigo took the book and flipped it over, only to be greeted by a cover depicting women dressed in skimpy clothing, with suggestive postures. Immediately he slammed the book facedown, cheeks tinged with a slight pink.

'I told you, I have no interest in things like this!' He glared at Shinji, simultaneously picking up the manga with his fingers, recoiling from it slightly. He lifted it over the dustbin threateningly.

The sides of Ichigo's mouth curled upwards as Shinji scrambled to swipe the book back.

'Hey hey wait! It's not mine ya know, Lisa's gonna kill me if it gets dirty!' Shinji frantically reached for the book while Ichigo reared backwards, surprised by Shinji's sudden onslaught. The two fell backwards onto the bed, resulting in Shinji landing on top of Ichigo.

'Give it back, brat!'

'Just stop moving and back off!' Ichigo growled back.

'Ichigo, what's all the commotion about, is there something wron—'The door to the room opened as Kurosaki Isshin peeked in. There was a stunned silence as Isshin's face turned to that of surprise, then to horror and finally embarrassment as he registered the scene in front of him; his son being straddled by an unknown youth as both of them aggressively tugged at each other with fervour.

'Er… I was just… Sorry to… interrupt.' Isshin stuttered out, his face plastered with a forced smile, before closing the door. The heavy and furious thumping of feet as Isshin ran down the stairs was then followed by a loud but muffled wail.

'MASAKII DEAR! OUR SON IS... IS…! DEAR WHAT SHOULD I DO?! HE… HE IS…!'

'What's wrong with Ichi-nii this time, oyaji?' A cool and composed girl's voice followed.

'YOUR BROTHER IS-!' The exaggerated wail resounded around the house.

'… So, what's rule number one again?' Shinji unabashedly asked, sniggering slightly.

…

After hours of discussion, clarification and spinning stories, the commotion finally died down. Even after much persuasion from both Ichigo and Shinji that the latter was a classmate who tragically lost his family in an accident and had nowhere else to stay, Ichigo could still feel the judgement and concern radiating from his father's gaze which annoyed him to no end.

Ichigo sighed again.

'Yer are just a little kid, why are ya sighing like an old man?' Shinji laughed airily, dangling his legs as he sat on his makeshift bed in the closet.

A thought suddenly occurred to Ichigo as he peered curiously at Shinji chilling casually.

'If Mr Hat and Clogs is right about Soul Society and those stuff about Shinigamis, then how old are you, Hirako-san?'

'Just call me Shinji, no need for formalities. And I will call you strawberry-chan' he chuckled as Ichigo rolled his eyes yet again.

'Anyways, my youthful looks probably don't show it but I'm probably more than 200 years old; usually after the first 100 years, no one really counts anymore.'

Ichigo's eyes widened in surprise and puzzlement before sarcastically commenting, 'Well, with that attitude of yours, it's really difficult to tell that you are older than me, much less centuries older.'

'It's precisely why I'm centuries old that I have this attitude. Living for so long drains one's soul much more than you can ever imagine. Especially when ya live with death, loss and betrayal every day.' Shinji's eyes were distant, seemingly reminiscing his long life.

'Different Shinigamis have their own ways of coping and this is my way of protecting my soul.' he said in an indifferent tone, not betraying any hint of emotion despite the serious speech.

'Anyways, little boys like yer need sleep! We gotta go school tomorrow morning ya know!' Shinji raised a finger, wagging it mockingly, immediately lifting the atmosphere.

'Wait, we?!'

'… unless I started speaking Arabic mid-sentence, I'm sure I said we.' Shinji said in a deadpan tone.

'You are going to school with me?' It was more of a statement than a question.

'We gotta stick together remember? Didn't think ya were such a scatter brain. '

'But, how? When? Did you-? Argh whatever, just... sleep.' Ichigo shook his head in resignation before reaching out for his lamp and flipping the switch, resulting in the room to be engulfed in darkness. Ichigo slid his legs under his bed sheet, feeling the exhaustion creeping up on him. Just before he drifted off, he heard someone whispering;

'Good night, strawberry-chan.'

Ichigo could have been dreaming then but he thought he saw two rows of unnaturally straight teeth, illuminated by the moonlight.

* * *

Wew lots of talking this chapter. Hope y'all are liking it so far!:) To be honest, I was quite bowled over by the response that this story received. Like I said in the first chapter, it was a sudden thing, so after posting it, I actually had to spend quite some time thinking/writing out the plot. There's going to be some parallels to the canon definitely, but after that, it will deviate. Some details are still fuzzy, particularly about Orihime, Chad and Ishida, but oh well, just going to go with the flow! Will try to release a chapter every 2 weeks hopefully!

Hope you are enjoying the story so far and do leave a review! Really appreciate all the reviews I received for the last chapter and thank you for all the favs and follows!:)


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry for my long absence T.T Here's a long chapter to make up for it!:)**

* * *

Chapter 3: **All in a day's work**

-A week later-

The cheerful trills of sparrows filled the air, blending in harmoniously with the gentle rustling of the leaves. As the morning sun peeked shyly from the horizons, tendrils of sunlight streaked across the azure sky, gradually turning night into day; such was a typical early morning in the Karakura neighbourhood.

The peace was however, interrupted by the furious stomping of footsteps followed by a loud 'SLAM' as the front door of the Kurosaki household burst open and two teenagers dashed out.

'This is all your fault!' Ichigo groaned.

'What?! The heck did I do?' Shinji exclaimed back in an affronted tone.

'If you haven't spent so much time combing your goddamn hair, we would not be this late!'

'Personal groomin' is important ya rascal! Just because ya don't care about yer own appearance, doesn't mean I should neglect mine.'

'What use is grooming anyways when your face looks like it got flattened by a sandal no matter what?'

'How did you know- WAIT, ya think yer's is any better?!'

The two squabbled as they ran to school, stumbling into the classroom panting just moments before the bell rang.

'So, the two best buddies are finally here.' Tatsuki Arisawa commented in a matter-of-fact tone, glancing up briefly from the book on her desk.

'We are not buddies!' Ichigo and Shinji simultaneously shot back, before glaring daggers at each other.

'Kurosaki-kun, Hirako-kun; good morning!' Orihime Inoue cheerfully greeted, energetically waving at the duo.

'What is this I hear about buddies?! Am I being left out again? ICHIGOOOO!' An overly enthusiastic, brown haired teenager appeared from nowhere and charged towards Ichigo while wailing.

'Osu, Keigo' Without even batting an eyelid, Ichigo took a small step towards his left and raised his right arm, resulting in Keigo running face first into his arm and then falling backwards, causing him to lay sprawled on the floor.

'Savage.' Shinji chuckled.

'I agree; but Asano-san never seems to learn.' A short, black-haired, deceptively young-looking (ironic, considering how _old_ Shinji actually is though) teenager piped up.

'Ya, ain't gonna tell him, Mizuiro?'

'Nope, after all he can't always rely on people helping him; anyways, it's entertaining.' Mizuiro replied, flashing an innocent smile. Shinji shuddered, thinking back to how when they first met, he had the impression that Mizuiro Kojima was simply a run-of-the-mill, naïve teenager. However, after witnessing his terrifying womanizing feats which he seemed to carry out with unnatural ease and confidence, Shinji realized how wrong he was and had even developed something akin to respect for the boy who managed to master such devastating flirting techniques at a tender age of 15!

Ichigo sat on his assigned seat, right next to Shinji's, observing him as he interacted with his classmates. The centuries old soul reaper was surprisingly up to date with the current trends, in some cases, even more so than Ichigo. His easy-going nature too helped him to blend almost effortlessly into the class, allowing him to interact with his classmates with relative ease. Although there were still some habits that Shinji simply could not shake off, such as his flirtatious behaviour.

As if to prove Ichigo's point, a sudden cry rang out;

'Orihime-chan, my first love, please go out with me!' Followed by the blond running towards Inoue with his arms outstretched in an exaggerated manner.

'No way in hell am I letting that happen, Hirako!' Tatsuki yelled as she stood, punching Shinji squarely in the gut, sending him sailing over Ichigo's desk and end up in a tangled mess of tables and chairs. Ichigo could not help but give a reluctant grin at the comical scene.

'Alright, all of you settle down!' The class homeroom teacher said as she entered the classroom, causing the usual fanfare and commotion to die down rapidly as the students took their respective seats.

…

The chiming of the bell resounded through the halls, breaking the stupor that most of the students were in and interrupting the teacher's monotonous monologue. Excitedly, the students immediately stood up and thanked the teacher before filing out of the classroom in their respective cliques to savour their break time.

Ichigo, Shinji, Keigo, Mizuiro and Chad headed towards their usual spot on the rooftop. After settling themselves comfortably, they took out their lunchboxes and chatted as they ate.

'It is beyond me how someone like you actually have friends.' Shinji drawled in an overly-dramatic voice.

'Well, I think part of the reason is that I actually act normal unlike _someone_ who introduced himself while writing his name backwards.' Ichigo hissed back.

There was a moment of silence as everyone simultaneously recalled the day when Shinji transferred into their class.

 **-Flashback-**

 _A lanky blond strolled into the classroom leisurely. With a lazy smile, he introduced himself before turning towards the blackboard to write his name. To everyone's surprise, he wrote his name backwards!_

 _'I like doing things in reverse.' He gave a sly smile before strutting towards the empty seat next to Ichigo, at the same time giving a discreet wink at every girl he passed by._

 _At that moment, everyone had the same thought._

 _-Looks like a weirdo has joined us. -_

'Anyways, did you hear Okino Yukio's latest single, it's amazing!' Keigo commented, breaking the silence as he whipped out his hand phone and played the aforementioned song. As expected of the latest sensational song, it had a groovy and upbeat beat that one could not help but bob their heads to which everyone except Shinji did so, who had in increasingly dissatisfied expression on his face.

'Psh, ya youngsters these days, always swayed by such superficial songs. Let me show you true music.' Shinji said once the song ended, taking out his own phone.

Ichigo raised an eyebrow, wondering what he would play. _Oh no. Not THAT._

'Shinji, no. STOP!'

It was too late. All he could do was to watch with dread and horror as Shinji pressed the play button.

Immediately, the mellow sound of a saxophone filled the air. A playful, whimsical melody followed, accompanied by drums, flutes and other woodwind instruments, combining to form a unique jazzy harmony. Shinji closed his eyes, tapping his fingers in tandem with the rhythm of the music, savouring it thoroughly.

Once the music ended, there was a stunned silence. Everyone stared at the blond in a mixture of confusion, astonishment and bemusement. Even Chad, who had been quietly eating his lunch, spluttered and choked on his food before looking at Shinji with the most flummoxed expression Ichigo had ever seen on the normally expressionless and impassive Chad.

'Good stuff hmm? This is real, jazzy music right here.' He gave a wide grin.

'Ye…Yeah. Haha…' Keigo stammered out and gave a weak laugh, before shooting a meaningful glance towards Ichigo which seemed to say _who and what is he and why did you bring him into our group_ which the latter very conveniently ignored.

'You have… quite a unique taste, Hirako-san.' Mizuiro said in his usual calm and composed tone although his tone wavered slightly, betraying his seemingly indifferent exterior.

Ichigo gave a resigned sigh. Although he had to admit Shinji had been doing pretty well adapting to teenage life (other than his fixation on weird fashion trends), one thing that he had been unable to fix was his obsession with jazz which Ichigo frankly, could not comprehend. Even after explaining that jazz music was simply not a thing with teenagers and never would be, the centuries-old Shinigami was adamant about his preference for jazz.

'Y'all will warm up to it eventually, don't worry.' Shinji cheerfully commented.

As the others struggled to find a suitable answer, the bell rang, signalling the end of their break time and Ichigo's friends subtly heaved a sigh of relief.

…

'Popular ain't cha?' Shinji's voice was dripping with sarcasm as the two exited the school after their lessons ended, only to be greeted by a crowd of menacing-looking delinquents armed with an assortment of bats, clubs and sticks.

'Shut it, Hirako.' Ichigo bit back, fighting back the urge to groan, seeing the whole ensemble of delinquents raring to have a go with him.

'Woah there, don't go throwing a hissy fit. Have fun with them yeah, meet ya later.' Shinji shoved both hands into his pockets and turned to leave.

'Who's that flaky-looking guy beside him?' A voice drifted from within the crowd of delinquents.

Shinji abruptly stopped.

'Is he Kurosaki's friend? Eh can't be, he looks way too wimpy.''

His eye twitched.

'Did you see that tongue piercing? Does he think that's cool? No way.' -laughter-

He gritted his teeth

'And that hairstyle, it looks so _old-fashioned_.'

'Alright, Now it's personal!' Shinji spun back around, glaring at the delinquents with an uncharacteristic murderous glint in his eyes.

'What are you going to do, wimp?' A big burly man sauntered up to him, towering over him mockingly. 'Even a breeze could blow you off your feet-'

-Crack-

The man fell to his knees, clutching his bleeding nose and sporting a new shoe-shaped mark on his left cheek. There was a stunned silence as the delinquent rolled on the ground, whimpering as Shinji brandished his weapon- his shoe- and grinned triumphantly.

'Who's next?'

Immediately, the remaining descended into chaos.

'Saotome-aniki!'

'He took him out with just a shoe?'

'Ru…run!'

In a space of a few seconds, the area cleared out, with the delinquents scattering in various directions, fleeing for their lives.

'You know, if this keeps up, your reputation will become even worse than mine.' Ichigo said in a dry voice.

'Whatever' Shinji gave a shrug as he unsuccessfully attempted to slip his shoe back on gracefully, flailing his arms desperately and hopping around in an awkward one-legged stance. After a series of pathetic attempts to recover with style, the blond finally relented and squatted down to wear his shoe like a normal person would. Used to his ridiculous antics by now, Ichigo merely gave a slight shake of the head.

The duo then continued their daily routine, heading towards the Urahara store, greeting the shady storekeeper before descending down a series of stairs to the underground basement. Although Ichigo had been to the basement a couple of times in the past week, he still could not help but to suck in a breath and look at the surrounding rock cavern in amazement. The room stretched on for as far as his eyes could see and

'Alright! Today ya will be sparring.'

'With…?' Ichigo glanced around, scanning their vicinity.

'Me.'

'You?!' He whipped back his head and gave Shinji's physique a look-over which in all honesty, was merely average. 'You?' He repeated disbelievingly.

'If I didn't know better, I'd say that ya seem to be… underestimatin' my skills?'

Images of Shinji being mauled by the Hollow, being pounded, kicked by Tatsuki through the week for his advances on Orihime, failing to dodge a poorly-aimed ball during dodgeball which resulted in a very unfortunate collision with the most sensitive part of a male's body, flashed through Ichigo's head. 'You don't exactly have a great track record.'

'Oho, someone has to be knocked off his high horse huh?

'I like to see you try.' Ichigo replied with a smirk

Something flashed across Shinji's eyes and his grin became impossibly wider, showing more teeth than usual. 'I like yer guts.' The blond sheathed his zanpaktou, before tossing it aside with a flourish.

'Not using your sword?' Ichigo blinked in surprise at the discarded weapon.

'Won't be needing it.' Shinji replied back airily. 'Ya won't be much of a threat.' His golden brown eyes glinted with amusement as he leisurely stretched.

Ichigo tightened his sword grip as a feeling of annoyance took hold. _Underestimating me now huh?_

Although Ichigo never flaunted his strength, he did pride himself on his athletic prowess and keen reflexes. His taekwondo background only served to enhance his already rather impressive skills. Even after withdrawing from taekwondo, he never neglected exercise and continued to hone his body; all for the ultimate motive of being able to protect his loved ones. It irked him to be looked down and underestimated by someone who did not seem to take him seriously.

'Okay… Let's do it.' Ichigo uttered as he rolled up his sleeves menacingly and maintained his stance as he eyed Shinji warily. The latter was walking in his usual slouched manner, with a typical lazy smile. Seeing that Shinji was still a fair bit of distance away, and his non-threatening behaviour, Ichigo could not help but to relax his guard, letting some of the tension in his shoulders escape, thinking that the blond-haired man could not do much from such a distance away. Immediately, Shinji disappeared from his view and only the faint sound of the movement of sand and gravel gave his position away.

 _He's fast…!_

Ichigo barely managed to bring his sword up to block the kick. 'Ghhh.' He grunted, surprised by the heaviness and force of the kick, his feet digging into the sand as he tried to stand his ground.

'Never let yer guard down even if yer enemy looks as harmless as a butterfly.'

Before Ichigo could retort back, Shinji landed three consecutive blows. He blocked the first two with his sword but did not see the third one coming, resulting in the punch connecting with his midsection. He doubled over, gasping.

'Showin' weakness is the same as giving an openin'.'

With the all-too-annoying grin plastered on his face, the blond launched a kick aimed at Ichigo's wrist in an attempt to disarm him. The orange-hair teenager however rolled to the side (albeit rather ungracefully) and narrowly dodged.

He then counterattacked by swinging his sword sideways towards Shinji but the latter simply stepped backwards with exaggerated ease, causing the tip of the sword to slice through thin air. Just as the sword swung past him, Shinji grabbed Ichigo's arm and pulled him. Due to the momentum and the tug on his arm, Ichigo fell to the ground, groaning.

In an impossibly fast movement, Shinji disarmed him and held the sword to his neck. 'Yie.. Yield.' he stammered out, panting as beads of sweat rolled down from his face. On the other hand, his opponent had not even broken a sweat.

'Although yer gigantic sword may have a long reach, it ain't much use if your swing is this slow. Take a 5-minute break and carry on with training.'

Shinji gently laid the sword by Ichigo's side and strutted off. He walked a fair distance away from where Ichigo and himself had been sparring and then leapt up a relatively steep hill, finally arriving at the best vantage point in the underground room where a certain shopkeeper had been watching.

'Enjoyin' the show, Kisuke?'

'Probably not as much as you when you were toying around with Kurosaki-san.' Urahara gave a wry smile.

'That obvious, huh?' Shinji flashed a conspiratorial grin and flopped down beside him. 'Wouldn't want to kill the boy just a week after savin' him.' He added with a chuckle.

'I have ta say though, his battle instincts are good.' he remarked while absentmindedly rolling back the sleeves of his uniform, revealing a small, discoloured patch on his pale skin; the beginnings of a bruise. 'Keeping in mind that he only had a week of training, his progress would put Academy students to shame.'

'I would have expected nothing less.' Urahara said simply.

'Of my teachin'? Ya know I would've made an excellent instructor; although the old man would never approve, he's such a hard-ass and-'

The shopkeeper smiled and sipped his tea, perfectly content to let the Visored derive his own interpretation about his comment.

…

As the hustle and bustle of the city died down and the last of Urahara's customers left the shop, Shinji and Ichigo bade their farewells to the owner and embarked on their way back home while engaged in an intense discussion over the music preferences of teenagers.

'Kurosaki-kun! Hirako-kun!' A voice interrupted their conversation. The duo turned around to find Inoue Orihime, energetically waving at them from a distance away. She skipped over eagerly but Shinji noticed that she was limping slightly, favouring one leg over the other. Upon closer inspection he noticed a large bruise spanning almost a third of her leg.

After exchanging pleasantries, the girl happily went about her business and Ichigo was just about to go about his too he realized that Shinji was not following.

'Does Orihime-chan have a recently deceased family member?' He asked, out of the blue.

'Recently… Her brother died around 3 years ago I think.'

'Hmm.' After a moment's thought, Shinji started walking in the direction in which Orihime had went.

'Hirako? Where are you going? Hey, wait up!'

Shinji hadn't bothered to answer any of the questions Ichigo subsequently threw on him, waving them away and concentrated on keeping a respectable distance between himself and Orihime. After realizing that he was only wasting his breath, Ichigo trailed behind Shinji silently and sulkily. They soon reached the apartment complex where Orihime lived in. Instead of climbing up the stairs to her apartment, Shinji entered the gap between the staircase landing.

'Why are we here?' Ichigo asked, 'I don't know what the custom in your Soul Society place, but over here, this can be considered stalking-'

'Orihime will be attacked by a Hollow.' Shinji cut him off.

'A… A hollow? How do you know?'

'The bruise on her leg; that's a Hollow's mark and from the looks of it, it's pretty recent.'

'Why would it attack her?'

Shinji sighed, folding his arms and leaning against a pillar. 'Hollows were formerly human souls, souls that wandered the earth for far too long and did not get a soul burial from a Shinigami. A hole forms where its heart used ta be and they develop an insatiable appetite for souls to fill the emptiness. And they usually target their family members first before going on to eat other souls.'

'Hollows were formerly living people? Family members… No way, Inoue's brother?! He's going to attack her?'

Shinji gave a grim nod.

All of a sudden, an unnatural howl came from above them, accompanied by a slight drop in temperature. 'That's our cue.' Shinji said as he donned a glove (curtesy of Urahara) and yanked Ichigo out of his body before running up the stairs and forcefully kicked open the door to the apartment.

The Hollow paid no heed to the intruders, only focusing on its prey as it advanced menacingly towards Orihime. Arisawa Tatsuki was sprawled in a corner of the room, knocked out cold. Beside her, was another girl, motionless and lying in a pool of blood. Upon closer examination, Ichigo realized with a start that the body belonged to Orihime.

'Why… Why are there two of her?' He stuttered, eyes flickering between the two Orihimes.

'That's her soul. Bastard must have injured her so badly that it separated her soul from her body; although her soul chain is still attached which means she still can be healed.'

'Ya fight the Hollow while I bring them to a safer spot.' With that Shinji ran towards the cowering girl, avoiding the swipes by the Hollow before scooping her in his arms and leaping away.

The Hollow howled and started to move to follow them but was stopped by Ichigo, blocking its path. However instead of engaging the Hollow in battle, Ichigo held out his left hand, fingers outstretched and palm towards the Hollow.

'Sora Inoue? Inoue's older brother right?' he said, simultaneously lowering his sword. The Hollow stopped and looked at him with its yellow, unblinking eyes. Ichigo struggled not to flinch as he maintained eye contact.

'Look, are you really going to hurt your sister? Hasn't Orihime already suffered enough because of your death! So stop hurting her alright?'

The Hollow continued staring at Ichigo for a few more moments before dropping its claw and turning away from Ichigo and the rest.

 _That went better than expected?_ He gave a sigh of relief. But no sooner than those thoughts were formed, the Hollow whirled back around at a breakneck speed, with its claws fully outstretched and swinging towards Ichigo.

 _Oh shit._ He held up his sword and prayed that the impact would not hurt too badly. However, instead of being blown backwards, he felt a blunt hit in his gut, sending him rolling to the side, resulting in the Hollow's strike narrowly missing him by mere inches.

'Ya little dimwit! What the hell were yer thinkin'?! If ya had a death wish, you should have just told me and saved me the trouble!' Shinji yelled as he pulled Ichigo up with one hand while he carried a very confused Orihime with the other.

'I just thought that I could make him listen and convince him not to attack!' Ichigo replied indignantly with a huff.

'Well _Mr Einstein,_ if that worked, we Shinigami wouldn't be wavin' our swords around would we? Heck, we would be bloody counsellors! _Counselling the Hollows to_ _oblivion_!' Shinji said in a snarky tone and glared at Ichigo.

'I…I…' The teenager gave a sullen expression before grunting out something that vaguely sounded like a grudging assent.

' **KUROSAKI ICHIGO, DO NOT INTERFERE. LEAVE ORIHIME AND GET OUT**.' A loud voice boomed from the Hollow.

'Leave you to eat her? You must be joking. If you want to kill her, then you will have to go through me first.'

' **SO BE IT! CONSIDER IT YOUR RETRIBUTION FOR COMING BETWEEN US.'**

'What a brother complex.' Ichigo mumbled to himself as he charged towards the Hollow.

…

Orihime was bewildered to say the least. Just a mere few minutes ago, she had been recounting to Tatsuki about coincidentally meeting their classmates when her bear fell off from the shelf. Everything went hazy then and all she could remember was a searing pain through her abdomen followed by a monster towering over her. She gazed down and saw a chain attached to her chest. _What is this?_ She gave it an experimental tug.

'Careful, that's yer lifeline you are touchin'.' Orihime looked up. Her eyes met with a pair of brown ones. 'Hirako-kun…?' He gave a brief nod before turning his attention back to the fight between the other two uninvited visitors. She followed his gaze and watched in bated breath at the battle between the monster and a person dressed in a black kimono. The unmistakable bright orange hair immediately identified the person as Kurosaki Ichigo. The monster swiped at Ichigo who avoided it narrowly and immediately counterattacked with a swing at its mask. It howled in a mixture of pain and fury as part of its mask shattered, revealing a very familiar face.

'Onii-san!' Orihime gasped, jerking against Shinji's arms as she tried to scramble out of his hold. 'Please let me go! That's my brother!' she pleaded.

'No way, ya will get hurt and get in the way.' Was his reply. She struggled again, pushing frantically against Shinji's grip but he held fast.

' **ORIHIME IS MINE AND ONLY MINE. I HAVE SACRIFACED SO MUCH FOR HER AND BECAUSE OF ALL OF YOU, I DISAPPEARED FROM HER HEART!'**

 _No, that's not true!_

' **I WAS SO LONELY! ALL I HEARD WAS ABOUT YOU AND NO LONGER ABOUT HOW MUCH SHE MISSED ME.'**

 _I didn't mean to! I wanted to show you that I was okay!_

'HEY! Orihime has her own life to live! She can't always be dwelling on the past and not moving on. As her brother, shouldn't you support her?!' Ichigo yelled.

The Hollow bellowed and unleashed a furious onslaught on Ichigo. Caught off-guard by the sudden aggression, he let slip an attack through his guard, causing his shoulder to be grazed by a claw.

That was when Orhime did something that Shinji never thought the mild-mannered, gentle girl could ever do; She bit down hard on his arm.

He gave a yelp and released his hold of her in surprise. Taking the chance, Orihime leapt out and ran towards the fight. A cascade of emotions rushed through her; She was scared, frightened and confused. However, despite the conflicting emotions, she persisted on. As her brother snarled and lunged towards Ichigo, she bit her lip and dashed towards the gap between the two and faced her brother.

 _CHOMP_

Orihime nearly blacked out due to the pain radiating from her right shoulder. Blinking rapidly to clear the tears welling up in her eyes, she gritted her teeth and forced herself to look at her brother in the eyes. She willed her right arm to move and embrace him.

'Onii…san, I never forgot about you. I thought… that you would have wanted me to move on and be happy. I wanted you to hear all the fun things that happened at school, the things I liked and the people I liked. I just didn't want you… to see me sad and worry about me. I'm sorry for making you sad and I love you.'

The strength in her legs gave out then, causing her to collapse. Before hitting the floor, she felt a pair of hands supporting her carefully and slowly lowering her onto his lap.

' **Ori…hime.'** Sora Inoue croaked. ' **Orihime, I'm so sorry. I… I knew… I knew that you didn't want to worry me but I… I just couldn't control myself!'**

He cradled his face in his hands and sobbed. After a few moments, he recomposed himself and reached around Orihime and Ichigo to retrieve the sword that the latter had tossed to the side in his haste to catch the girl.

'What are you-'

' **If I linger around longer, I might lose control of myself again and put Orihime in danger again.** ' He held the tip of the sword to his neck.

'No, wait isn't there another way?' Ichigo asked, glancing at Shinji who gave a shake of the head.

'There ain't any way to revert a Hollow back; he's right. But don't worry yer ass off about it. Cutting a Hollow ain't the same as killing them; the zanpaktou helps ta wash away their sins and send them on their way to Soul Society.'

' **Thank you and sorry for the trouble I have caused.** ' He nodded towards Ichigo and Shinji before facing Orihime.

' **Orihime, keep your head held high and continue being the cheerful little sister I know, alright? I… love you.** '

'I love you too Onii-san, good-bye.' Orihime smiled as she fought back tears.

With a beatific smile on his face, Sora Inoue thrust the sword into his body. A warm light enveloped the room and after it dissipated, he was gone.

…

After dealing with the aftermath with the Hollow attack, Ichigo and Shinji were finally, once again on the way home. At a fork at the road, Shinji slowed down and motioned for Ichigo to continue on without him.

'Ya go on first, I have some business to settle.'

'Okay, just don't come back too late or my old man will start asking questions. See you.'

Shinji loitered around the area for a few moments after Ichigo left before turning back towards the dark and seemingly empty path where they had come from.

'Ya can come out from there now… Orihime-chan.'

The strawberry haired girl peeked out from behind a corner shyly. She gave an innocent smile and put her hand behind her head. 'Ahh! Hirako-kun! I was just on my way to get some drinks hehe, what a coincidence~!' Orihime exclaimed excitedly, as if without a single care in the world.

'… Ya don't have to pretend. I saw ya follow us all the way from yer house. I purposely didn't flash ya with the memory replacer; so I know that ya remember everythin' that happened just now.'

'…' The girl

Orihime lowered her head and clasped both hands together. She shuffled around uneasily, as if struggling to find the right words to say. 'So, my brother… he's gone?' In a timid voice, she asked; glancing at the blond with a child-like expression.

'Yes. His soul is at peace now, don't worry yer head off about it. He's… He will have a new start.' Shinji caught himself before blurting out the all-too familiar ' _he's in a better place_ ' phrase. He knew how horrible living conditions in Rukongai could be and lying just did not seem fair to the girl in front of him.

'That's good to hear.' Orihime gave a sigh of relief.

'Besides, I think it ain't fair for ya to forget that last conversation with yer brother.'

'Yes… I'm glad I got to say goodbye to him too.' She gave a sad smile.

The memory replacer that all Shinigamis were provided with served two purposes. One, was of course to prevent the living from learning about the existence of Shinigami. The second reason was that people who have seen the true form of Hollows, the distorted and grotesque beings which no longer resembles that of a human, they tend to become scarred and traumatised. In the worst case scenario, they would become haunted by nightmares, visions and fear, forever unable to live a normal life; Such was the nature of fragile human beings.

However, after spending a century in the human world, Shinji had realized that while humans were indeed fragile, they were also resilient. Despite disasters, wars and diseases which plagued the living world, humans never stopped. They pick themselves up and continue living, growing stronger with each obstacle. This was something that Shinji had learnt through his interactions with them and something that the Shinigami had yet to comprehend. The 'human spirit' or so they called it, Shinji could see it in Orihime.

'And, you get to see yer charming Ichigo save ya as a bonus too.' Shinji added offhandedly.

He watched in amusement as the girl blushed and averted her eyes away from the blond.

'Ya like him, don't cha?

'Ehh? I do- I mean I don't really- Ah!' Flustered by the direct question, Orihime stammered before covering her blushing, red-hot cheeks with both hands.

That was all Shinji needed to confirm his suspicions. He gave a chuckle before turning his back towards Orihime.

'Don't hesitate and charge forward, Orihime-chan. Ya never know when these peaceful times will end. Before ya know it, everythin' will change. For the better or worse, who knows? Life's full of twists and turns; so don't take it all for granted.'

 _Like me…_ He sighed.

'Hirako-kun...? Who are you really?' Orihime asked curiously and cautiously.

'Just someone with a little more experience than y'all kiddos.' Shinji replied vaguely.

'It's late now, go get some rest. As for what happened today, let it be our little secret eh?' he said before walking off into the veil of the night.

'Ah, Hirako-kun! Wait- '

Orihime ran in an attempt to catch up with him but found that he was gone.

* * *

 **A/N:** So sorry for the long wait! It feels like its been ages since I last published something. I've been a little busy for the past few months and I can be quite a procrastinator sometimes. I also had a bit of trouble with this chapter but I hope y'all like it! Really thankful for all the follows, favs and reviews which kept me writing. Do leave me a review and tell me how you think the chapter was! Until next time (I promise the next chapter would be released faster!)~

PS: I can't believe Bleach is ending so fast omg.


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